R15 -Seattle

In between rounds, Trey Canard bit the dust while practicing and is out for the season. He had an amazing Rookie 450 season going! So the top 5 riders -- all within easy reach of the championship -- was down to the top 4 before the racing has even started in Seattle.

With Canard out, Honda found another reason to provide some more small but important factory pieces to Chad Reed for this event. Each of the Japanese manufacturers has a rider in contention for the championship!

Seattle's weather and soil created hugely rapidly changing conditions with the deteriorating track and was the set for another intense race weekend. Gnarly knurled nasty ruts all over the track, on jump faces and the crazy whoop-dee-doos with cross-rutting action pitching riders all over the place the race pace slowed with each heat race. This stuff looks just impossible to ride without being totally fit and focused and extremely skilled.

In the 450s, Stewart was riding heads above the others, and loving it... and the rain man and old-guy (that's 33 years old in Supercross), Kevin Windham was smooth and experienced nabbing second place from the gung-ho younger guys.

Mike Alessi had a great early run on the new KTM350. Dungey fought from 10th into 6th place but blew off the track in the rutted whoops. Chad Reed had a decent start as well and was holding down 2nd for most of the race, until he pitched it in a big way --- buried the nose, over the bars, and had the bike hit him JUST barely... if the bike wouldve contacted him just a little differently I think he wouldve been mud. But luckily he was able to get up BUT Villopoto was right there and fighting hard for that final podium position with only a couple laps to go... but pooof... he came off the bike trying to get past Reed... so Reed got 3rd, and Villopoto was able to get back up, take 4th, while Ryan Dungey had made his way into 5th. Alessi brought the KTM home 6th.

With that race down, the points chase tightened up --- only 2 points between 1st and 2nd, and only 9 points bewteen 1st and 4th place. They have one week off before the final two race weekends. Amazing to see Villopoto, Reed, Dungey, Stewart with only 9 points between them this late in the season.

Also, with Chad Reed placing second he overtook Jeremy McGrath's all-time Supercross podium record.

Overall Point Standings

Ryan Villopoto KAW 293
Chad Reed HON 287
Ryan Dungey SUZ 286
James Stewart YAM 284
Trey Canard HON 255 (out for the season)
Andrew Short KTM 196
Kevin Windham HON 187
Davi Millsaps YAM 156
Justin Brayton 141
Ivan Tedesco KAW 134

250 West series --- Josh Hansen riding with a broken hand managed to slip only a little in the points, losing 1st place in the overall standings to his team-mate Broc Tickle. Lots more racing to come here too.

Two rounds left:

- April 30 - Rice-Eccles Stadium - Salt Lake, UT
- May 7 - Sam Boyd Stadium - Las Vegas, NV

_________________
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